Trump can’t deliver Ukraine to Putin — and he should stop trying to

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Norway on Tuesday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders. They brought the agenda: a one-sided peace deal with Russia, ending the war in Ukraine.

Nothing has changed since their last meeting in Kyiv . Russian President Vladimir Putin has not backed off his maximalist demands . Ukraine is not going to give up the remaining 11 percent of Donetsk , and the U.S. is not prepared to provide or support meaningful security guarantees.

Yes, President Trump wants an end to the war, but not for the sake of Ukraine or the defense of NATO; rather, to secure “ economic opportunities ” with Russia. Putin has had Kirill Dmitriev travel to Miami, Moscow, New York and Washington to entice Team Trump to win something that his military cannot deliver — Ukraine.

Trump has not been able to deliver Ukraine either. Mr. Art of the Deal cannot close the deal, and he continues using tactics unbecoming of any president before him to pressure Zelensky into making a bad deal.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly delayed the transfer of U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles from European allies to Ukraine — missiles vital to Ukraine’s air defenses, protecting critical energy infrastructure and civilians from Russian missile attacks.

Ukraine’s access to Starshield was significantly degraded in mid-October, disrupting drone operations and battlefield communications. According to Reuters , the “order to limit the satellite system came from inside the White House,” although Trump has denied any involvement .

Trump also continues to berate Zelensky publicly . As he departed the White House on Monday, he told reporters that Zelensky “doesn’t want to stop” the war and “is not helping matters much. I think it’s time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.”

Trump made no mention of Russian strikes against Ukrainian civilians or critical energy infrastructure. Only that “Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven’t been doing much.” He has also made statements like, “Some people in a town that got hit or whatever , but mostly young soldiers.”

Images of dead Ukrainian children and their mothers tell a different story.

Trump said a couple weeks ago “that the war in Ukraine is drawing to a close ” and that “the end really is getting closer.” But that end cannot come at the cost of Ukraine. No business deal or economic opportunity is worth the cost of compromised American values — self determination, freedom, and democracy.

Yesterday, Trump told reporters, “ I want to see people not die . They’re losing, probably on average, 25,000 to 35,000 soldiers every single month. All I want is for Zelensky and Putin to stop the war.”

What he left out was that they — Russian soldiers — were dying only because they continue to attack Ukrainian defensive positions. They could leave at any time — Putin needs only to say the word. Ukraine, however, is facing an existential threat and defending itself. And it has become quite efficient in producing Russian casualties, surpassing 50,000 last month.

Putin’s army cannot win on the battlefield, but he is prepared to continue the Russian way of war until the West stops supporting his victim. He has mandated to the Kremlin a “ no-rules-now ” rule of engagement that essentially makes it open season on Ukrainian civilians.

But in reality, there have been no rules for the last four and a half years. And that is what we are witnessing today in Ukraine.

If Trump really wants to stop the killing, he should demand that Russian ground forces stop attacking, that the Kremlin stop bombing Ukrainian cities and that Putin withdraw his troops to within his country’s borders.

Team Trump is applying pressure to the wrong target. Putin has come back to the table out of weakness. Sanctions — the economic instrument of national power — and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries have forced an unwilling Putin and Dmitriev back to the negotiating table. They need the economic investment to survive. This is no time to reward them for losing.

Putin’s economy and even his regime is in trouble. Ukraine has knocked out 51 percent of Russia’s oil refining capacity and has the other 49 percent on the target list as Fire Point missiles come on line.

Trump would give away the leverage that Ukrainians have died on the battlefield to create, in exchange for future economic opportunities Putin likely will not honor anyway.

Trump needs a new approach. He should exploit Putin’s weakness and flip the script. Peace must come at a cost for Moscow — not as a reward.

Any future deals with Russia must be contingent upon an immediate cease-fire, a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine and security guarantees. It must also include a cessation of Moscow’s hybrid war against NATO.

If Moscow refuses, economic sanctions must remain in place. And the U.S. must continue to provide Ukraine the intelligence support it needs to target Russia’s ability to fund and wage war, support a NATO active air defense over Ukraine and continue the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List program that provides Ukraine with weapons and ammunition.

Trump needs to be part of the solution and stop contributing to the problem Putin chose to create.

Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Sweet served 30 years as a military intelligence officer and led the U.S. European Command Intelligence Engagement Division from 2012 to 2014. Mark Toth writes on national security and foreign policy. They are the cofounders of INTREP360 and the INTREP360 Intelligence Report on Substack.